Exhaust Mount Fatigue Testing

THE CHALLENGE

With increasing customer expectations for a quality, reliable product, there is a need to fully test all components. Rubber mounts, such as those used to connect a vehicle’s engine and transmission to its chassis are required to reduce the transmission of vibrations, protecting the rigid frame and leading to a more comfortable ride. The elastomeric material used in these components tends to naturally degrade. Simulating real-life conditions is critical to ensure the component can meet the designer’s expectations. Choosing the correct control parameters required to perform this type of test reliably can be challenging and requires a high-performance test instrument.

THE Solution

Engineers began using ElectroPuls™ test instruments to easily perform advanced fatigue tests to understand the fatigue life of rubber mounts. These tests not only validate the component by simulating real-life road conditions but also give insights into the damping characteristics of the material. The mounts were tested at different displacement amplitudes using frequency sweeps to represent the different conditions to which the components are subjected. Choosing the correct control parameters for this type of test is made simple thanks to the patented Stiffness Based Auto Tuning of the ElectroPuls, which automatically optimizes the correct control parameters in seconds. Because Instron provides simple to use software with built-in DMA calculations, it is quick and easy for users to setup and run tests, saving more time to analyze the data.